Fellow CERTS: May finds us as busy as ever, wrapping up CERT Basic 18-03, and in full swing for planning for CERTCON 2018. CERTCON began here in Montgomery County in 2011 when we decided it would be good to find a way to meet and train with other CERTS in the National Capital Region. Each year since then one of the NCR jurisdictions has played host. This June will mark our third time with the honors. CERTCON requires many many hours of planning and preparing, so here is a shout out to our great Montgomery CERT volunteers and our wonderful NCR partners who make it all possible. Our theme this year is Learning For Life, and CERTCON 2018 takes place June 23 at Montgomery College in Germantown, MD and June 24 at our public safety training academy in Montgomery Village, MD. Follow the link for more info and for free registration. certcon.org

CERT Con 2018: Learning For Life     CERTCON 2018 IS HERE!! The Montgomery County (Maryland) Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is sponsoring the annual CERT conference in the National Capital Region. The conference will provide education and hands-on training to CERTs in the Mid-Atlantic region. The CERTCON 2018 theme is “Learning For Life” and is the foundational concept for this year’s classes, lectures, workshops and training exercises. A ticket is required for each day of the conference. There will be 2 separate registrations due to 2 different locations. DAY 1: SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2018- MONTGOMERY COLLEGE- GERMANTOWN CAMPUS The event begins Saturday June 23, 2018 at 0900 at the Montgomery College campus in Germantown. Doors open at 0800. There will be plenty of free parking available on campus. Saturday\’s schedule will include breakout sessions on topics ranging from COOP Planning for small businesses to water safety. There will also be panel discussions and interactive exercises.  An follow up email with full event details, maps, schedules and more will be sent in June.  We expect Saturday\’s event to run until approximately 1630. DAY 2: SUNDAY, JUNE 24, 2018- MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING ACADEMY CERTCON 2018 moves to the new Montgomery County Public Safety Training Academy for a day of apparatus displays, hands on breakout training, and a hyper-realistic field training exercise (FTX), designed to test CERT skills and teamwork held in the facility\’s \”high bay\” three-story indoor cityscape. Doors open at 0830, and the event begins at 0900. We expect CERTCON 2018 to wrap up about 1500. There is plenty of free parking at the adacemy. State ID required for entry to the PSTA. SIGN UP TODAY AT: http://certcon.org    

Would you know what to do if someone you knew or loved had a cardiac emergency, suddenly passed out or thought they were having a heart attack? Whether your answer is yes or no, why pass up on a chance to refresh your skills for free? Montgomery CERT believes that everyone should be trained and prepared to use life-saving skills like the use of CPR (and the AED machine.) Montgomery CERT is offering a FREE adult CPR/AED class to Montgomery County, MD residents. Our CPR/AED classes are taught by American Safety and Health Institute (ASHI) professional instructors. Students will receive ASHI certification in Adult CPR/AED.  To participate in this training, you must be 12 years old or older and a resident of Montgomery County (exceptions may be made for non-residents who work in Montgomery County.) Please wear comfortable clothing and arrive at least 15 minutes early to pass security. Class size is limited to 30 participants Powered by Eventbrite  

On Thursday, April 5 between 10 and 11 a.m., 20 Washington metropolitan-area jurisdictions, which include all of Montgomery County, will simultaneously issue a test message to the public through the national Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system. This will be the first live regional test using WEA’s geo-target capabilities and is expected to reach 5.2 million people. The WEA system should not be confused with the local “Alert Montgomery” or other emergency alert programs in jurisdictions within Montgomery County, or used in other metro-area jurisdictions. The local programs are separate from this national system. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) launched WEA nationally in 2012. It has been used more than 33,000 times across the country to warn the public about dangerous weather, missing children, and other critical situations – all through alerts on WEA-enabled cell phones and other enabled wireless devices. Most types of phones are WEA-enabled, an older “Flip Phone” might not be. The public does not sign up or register for WEA, and there is no fee for the service. On April 5, individuals in the participating jurisdictions will receive a message customized to their area. Within Montgomery County the message will be: “A test of the Montgomery County Wireless Emergency Alerts System. No action required.” The alert will trigger a loud (somewhat annoying) noise and will cause the receiving device to vibrate. Both the loud audio signal and vibration will be repeated twice, while displaying the text-like message on cell phones and mobile devices. Again, individuals do not sign up to receive a WEA message, they come automatically. Therefore, the test alert may come as a surprise to people who have not previously received a WEA message. If a real-world event impacts the planned WEA test on Thursday, April 5, the back-up test date is Monday, April 9, between 10 and 11 a.m. The WEA system allows government and public safety officials to target emergency public safety information and imminent threats to safety to a specific geographic area. It uses a loud warning sound and text-like messages on an individual’s WEA-enabled cell phone or other enabled mobile device. The WEA system allows the messaging to be more targeted and efficient, which is critical during an emergency. Periodic testing of public alerts and warning systems helps local governments assess the system and identify any needed improvements. The test ensures that Public safety officials have reliable methods and systems that will deliver urgent alerts and warnings to the public during an emergency or disaster. Jurisdictions participating in the exercise will draw a geo-targeted map in their WEA system. Cell phones or mobile devices located outside, but near, the participating jurisdictions may receive the WEA test because this technology uses carrier towers. Individuals who are traveling through several jurisdictions during the testing period will receive alerts from each jurisdiction they enter. Individuals visiting the Washington metropolitan-area during testing will also receive the alerts. The jurisdictions participating in the WEA testing include: City of Alexandria, City of Bowie, City of College Park, City of Fairfax, City of Falls Church, City of Gaithersburg, City of Greenbelt, City of Takoma Park, City of Manassas, City of Manassas Park, City of Rockville, District of Columbia, Arlington County, Charles County, Fairfax County, Frederick County, Loudoun County, Montgomery County, Prince George\’s County and Prince William County. People in these jurisdictions during the WEA test will receive an alert on their cell phone or other mobile device(s). Link for: Answers to Frequently Asked Question’s (FAQ’s) about the testing: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OEMHS… Link for: Additional information on WEA: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/wir…

This month it seems appropriate that we CERTs reflect for a moment on how Dr. King\’s message applies to our work today. Our CERT foundational principle when we teach triage is \”The greatest good for the greatest number\”. It seems to me that this philosophy applies to more that just triage: it is a way to approach all we do for our families, and our communities. Martin Luther King, Jr was surely a \”man for others\”.  I think that we are each called to prepare and practice our CERT skills so we can better serve each other and our area. This summer Montgomery County CERT will offer a CERT/Re-CERT as a chance for those who need some refresher training to brush up on skills, and for those who are missing a class or two to get their FEMA certificate. Watch this space. We will also be announcing a number of Friends and Family CPR/AED classes which will begin in May. Watch the CPR tab on the website for registration information. CERT CON 2018 is June 23/24 in Germantown and the Public Safety Training Academy. Registration information will also be here in May.   CERT Instructors Lisa Ackerman & Jennifer Hobson Review a triage exercise in March with our latest CERT Basic class. So stay tuned, stay ready, and GET BUSY! Greg St. James Community Emergency Response Team (C.E.R.T.)  Program Manager Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service 100 Edison Park Drive Gaithersburg,  MD 20878 240-777-2407